Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban) standard bearer Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s stand he could be substituted by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte- Carpio is not the party’s position.
In an interview on CNN Philippines, Cusi clarified the matter following Dela Rosa’s meeting with the presidential daughter where the latter senator reporteldy “reminded” Sara Duterte that the deadline for the substitution of candidates is already near.
“Yung sinasabi ni Sen. Bato na yun, is because si Mayor Sara has always been the front-runner sa mga surveys. Kaya sinasabi na okay din kung magsa-substitutte si Mayor Inday but it is not the party position (Sen. Bato was saying that because Mayor Sara has always been the front-runner in the surveys. That’s why we are saying it’s also okay if Mayor Inday substitutes him but that is not the party position),” Cusi stressed.
“Mayor Inday Sara naman has been very firm na sinasabi niya na hindi siya tatakbo (in saying that she is not running) under PDP,” the PDP-Laban president said.
Cusi said the matter of Dela Rosa being willing to be subsituted by Sara Duterte is a matter of showing respect to the Davao City Mayor.
“He’s just being natural about it, being open, giving respect to Mayor Inday Sara. Knowing that Sara is a good candidate. The way he sees it, kung si Mayor Inday magiging kalaban niya, hindi na siya lalaban (if she becomes his rival, he will back out from the race),” Cusi explained.
“Yun yung point nya dun, Sen. Bato will not run against Mayor Inday,” he said.
At the same time, Cusi said that the meeting between presidential aspirant and former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. for a possible tandem with Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, who is running for vice president, did not materialize.
This means, he said, a Bongbong-Sen. Go tandem is now “impossible” as the PDP-Laban is already geared up for the Bato-Go tandem in 2022.
“We are already firmed up on the candidacy of the tandem of Bato and Bong Go...We are no longer in touch with them (Marcos’ camp),” Cusi said.